Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Bars
This dessert recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Bars is perfect for spring, with a hazelnut and cashew crust.
It’s officially rhubarb season and the plant in my yard is finally big enough to harvest a few stalks. My mom gave K and I this plant when we moved two years ago, and it’s growing out of control this year. Over the past week it has grown to two feet tall with all of the rain!
We harvested a few stalks today, and I had to make a recipe as soon as possible. Strawberries happened to be deliciously ripe at the grocery store this morning too.
I thought about making healthy Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins for breakfast options this week, but decided my first rhubarb stalks deserved to be used in an official dessert. My mom texted me a few ideas, including an old school Rhubarb Custard recipe from the 1940s. I added strawberries and made a few modifications including reducing the sugar in half, and the bars turned out soo good!
I started by making a vegan crust, with raw hazelnuts, cashew meal, maple syrup, and almond milk. You can also substitute almond flour for cashew meal, or make a standard butter + flour crust. Both would make delicious custard bars. I pre-baked the crust for 20 minutes before adding the custard filling.
The custard itself only includes a few ingredients – eggs, vanilla, sugar, strawberries, rhubarb, and a bit of flour as a binder. I finally had a reason to use this special vanilla bean paste that I picked up over the holidays this year. Any vanilla extract will work in the custard filling.
The vibrant pink and green from the strawberries and rhubarb screams spring, doesn’t it?
Pre baking:
Post baking:
The entire house smelled delicious while these bars were in the oven! I love this lightly sweet take on a strawberry rhubarb dessert.
Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Bars can be enjoyed either warm or cold. I just finished a chilled bar while writing this post. Whipped cream or ice cream would make a delicious topping too.
Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup raw hazelnuts
- 1 cup cashew meal {may substitute almond flour}
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup almond milk
Filling
- 4 eggs
- 4 stalks rhubarb {chopped}
- 1 cup strawberries {chopped}
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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Add the crust ingredients in a food processor - hazelnuts, cashew meal, maple syrup and almond milk. Process until all ingredients are combined.
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Press the crust mixture evenly into a 9x9 baking dish. Bake the crust for 20 minutes, until lightly brown on the edges.
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While the crust is baking, chop the strawberries and rhubarb stalks into small pieces.
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Whisk 4 eggs until combined. Add the rest of the custard ingredients and mix well - flour, salt, vanilla, chopped strawberries, and rhubarb.
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Add the custard on top of the pre-baked crust.
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Bake for 30 minutes.
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Let the bars cool slightly before cutting. Keep the leftover bars refrigerated.
{Adapted from Just a Pinch’s recipe for Rhubarb Custard Bars}
I’m Celia. I live in the Chicago area. I'm a mama of two, runner, business owner and former Iowan. My blog includes recipes, fitness and travel posts, and stories about Chicago.
